China Shanxi Alumina Firms Further by Yuan 30/mt to Yuan 2,780/mt

The China ex-works Shanxi daily spot alumina assessment continued its upward trend on Monday, settling higher at Yuan 2,780/mt ($419/mt) cash, up another Yuan 30/mt after rising Yuan 50/mt on Friday.

The current price also reflected an increase of Yuan 130/mt on the week and Yuan 280/mt on the month.

The bid-ask spread stood mostly at Yuan 2,750-2,800/mt on Monday, with the highest offers heard at Yuan 2,900-3,000/mt.

On Monday, a Shandong refiner reported selling 20,000 mt September spot to two separate traders at Yuan 2,800/mt cash ex-works Shandong, 10,000 mt each, to be delivered to Xinjiang.

The trade could not be confirmed, but several market participants have said Monday that most refiners would not sell below Yuan 2,800/mt currently in Shanxi and Henan as well.

"We are now in talks with Xinjiang smelters directly to sell spot at Yuan 2,850/mt cash, but that's not settled yet," the Shandong refiner said.

A Shanxi refiner said Monday that talks were going round about Xinjiang smelters being willing to pay up to Yuan 3,500/mt cash delivered to plant currently.

Xinjiang smelters could not be reached Monday for comment.

In the near term, spot alumina offers are now expected to break above Yuan 3,000/mt cash, with tradeable prices likely ranging at Yuan 2,800-2,900/mt within one to two weeks, multiple sources said.

Prevailing bauxite supply concerns in Shanxi province due to potential mines shutdowns for environmental reasons, high aluminum prices, and rising spot offer levels, continued as main supporting factors for spot alumina.

On Monday, the front-month aluminum contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed at Yuan 16,285/mt, down marginally from Yuan 16,325/mt a week ago, but up from Yuan 14,300/mt last month.